The Witch and the Wolf
by Silence In Winter
Summary: When Anna is kidnapped by a shadow wolf to play a pawn in a war against humanity, Elsa volunteers to take her place. Fortunately for Elsa, humanity has Guardians. Jelsa, Semi-AU
1. Chapter 1

The Witch and the Wolf

Chapter 1

Tears streamed down Elsa's face as she stared at her hands, trembling and covered in the blood of her sister. Feathers and cotton from the carcass of Anna's bed covered every surface like the snow that was falling quietly through the broken window. Suffocating and thick, the copper smell of blood was everywhere. Red paw prints the size of a human torso lead from the bed out the threshold of the door and into the hall. Swallowing her better judgement, Elsa tiptoed back into the hall.

"Anna?" She called. There was no response. In the dim torchlight she could see that the trail of prints continue the length of the corridor and down the stairs. Gathering her skirt so it wouldn't drag in the mess, she followed the spiral, stopping half way when she saw that from her vantage point to the end all of the torches where extinguished, plunging the remainder of the stairs into dark shadows.

"...Anna?" She said again, expecting, even hoping for silence, but at the bottom of the staircase she saw something stir in the black and heard a low, throaty growl followed by a moan that she recognized to be her sister.

"Anna!" Elsa cried. "I'm coming!" She grabbed the nearest torch off of the wall. "Where are you?"

"E-Elsa?" Anna's weak voice like a bell in the dark.

"I'm here, Anna. Where are you?" Elsa proceeded slowly down the stairs. As she crept closer, she saw the flick of something large and lithe move out of the path of the light.

"Go back." This voice wasn't Anna. It was deep, masculine, and dominant. "I have what is mine to take."

Elsa felt her hands begin to sweat against the wood of the torch. "That wouldn't be my sister." She responded. "Where are you?" She had reached the bottom of the stairs but didn't see anything but the stain of blood that was left where the intruder had been standing a moment before. Was it Anna's?

"I'm right next to you." The voice said. Elsa turned to her left, casting the torch in front of her. Sitting a meager two feet from her was a wolf black as a panther and three times as large. On his massive shoulders and haunches were golden markings in a language that was unfamiliar to Elsa. Yellow eyes intelligent and greedy cut to Elsa's soul, beckoning her to surrender to the fear that quickened the beat of her heart.

Buried deep in his chest cavity was a shard of stained glass, presumably from the broken window in Anna's room. The rest of his dark pelt had smaller shards of glass but not many seemed deep enough to break his skin. In his mouth was Anna, her lower half clutched tightly in the wolf's mouth. Elsa could see the wolf's teeth sunk deep into her right thigh.

"Oh, Anna." Elsa managed, her eyes darting from the wolf to her sister who looked just as terrified.

The wolf shifted towards Elsa, lifting himself higher. "Are you scared?" He asked. Elsa opened her mouth to speak but the horror of the moment had snuffed her words.

"Don't worry. I can smell the fear on you and it's delicious." The wolf opened his mouth, releasing Anna who gasped in pain as she hit the floor. As he licked the blood off of his lips he pressed a massive paw against her back so she couldn't move. Anna whimpered under the weight of the wolf.

"What do you want with Anna?" Elsa asked. "Please, let her go."

"Your naivety is so... precious. This is the Princess of Arendelle. Her use to me is endless."

Suddenly Anna sounded panicked. "Go back, Elsa. Go back and get the guards!"

Instead, Elsa took a deep breath, jutted out her chin and slowly raised her head and shoulders, standing tall and upright.

"Anna might be a princess, but I am her older sister and therefore," Elsa took the end of her braid, twisted it around itself, and secured it into a tight bun with a pearled bobby pin. "I am the Queen of Arendelle. If she is of endless use to you, than mine is infinite."

"Well!" The wolf stood, releasing Anna. He limped towards Elsa, who in turn back away. "That does change things, doesn't it."

"Elsa, no!" Anna cried. She tried to stand but when she put weight on her injured leg it buckled, sending her right back to the floor. She was fighting harder than Elsa had ever seen and it surprised her. "Don't tell him these things."

Elsa continued to back away from the wolf until she hit the wall, her heart fluttering with panic as she felt the stone as cold and dead as she feared she would be. The tip of the wolf's muzzle was inches from her face. She could smell the blood on his breath, see shreds of Anna's green night dress stuck between his teeth.

"I see you are trying to be brave but you still reek of weakness and fear." His nostrils flaring as he huffed her scent. "Does Anna's sister have a name?"

"E-Elsa."

"I will tell you whatever you want, just don't touch her!" Anna squealed from across the room, but she was ignored. "Elsa, don't talk to him!"

"A pleasure, Queen Elsa." The wolf said. "You can call me Pitch. I suppose we are enemies." Elsa said nothing. It took all of her courage to hold Pitch's gaze. His yellow eyes appeared so human, judging every breath she took and every curve of her body.

"I want a sister tonight and I'm beginning to think its not Anna."

Gritting her teeth, Elsa gave herself a moment of weakness to shiver in the presence of the wolf. Closing her eyes she forced the image of Anna, bloody and broken on the floor into her mind's eye. She brought up the sight of her sister's bedroom ransacked and the fear that pierced her heart when she realized that Anna could be dead. She let those words rest on her heart for a moment.

 _Anna could be dead._

"Pitch," She said. "If you let Anna go I will go with you instead."

"No!" Anna screamed and pounded the floor with her fist. "Elsa, you can't do that!"

"That is an offer that is certainly hard to resist." Pitch looked over his shoulder at Anna, who was slowly inching towards them. Tears of pain were streaming down her face and she was grinding her teeth, using nothing but her arms to move.

Pitch returned his attention to Elsa. "The thing is, I think I should kill your sister."

"No!" Elsa reached out and touched Pitch's ear. "I told you, take me instead."

"You have to sweeten the pot, my Queen. You should know how to barter, you run a country." Pitch said. "Make me a better offer."

Elsa's heart was like a butterfly under glass. Her eyes wandered to Anna on the floor and back to Pitch, then to his bleeding chest with the shard of glass.

"I'll take that out." Elsa pointed to the glass shard. "Then you leave her and take me. Do you understand?"

"No!" Anna screamed from behind them. "Don't take it out, thrust it deeper!"

Pitch chuckled. "Deal." He offered Elsa his chest. Unhooking her purple cloak, Elsa wrapped it around the bloody shard of the glass that was sticking out of his chest. She pulled softly at first, but the there was no movement. She pulled harder and it began to wiggle. Pitch moaned and much to her own disgust, Elsa felt a flicker of satisfaction in the dark place below her heart. Closing her eyes, she reached for that place in her mind again where Anna lay prone and in pain. With a grunt of effort, she pulled hard and fast and the shard came out followed by a slow trickle of blood.

"Anna," Elsa met her sister's desperate eyes, the former asking wordlessly for forgiveness, not permission. "It's to keep you safe. Goodbye."

Pitch lowered his head for Elsa, who took hold of the scruff of his neck and used it to hoist herself onto his back. Underneath her she could feel the sheer power he possessed as he stood to full height and vaulted forward, charging down the halls of the castle before the sister's could say anything else. Pitch navigated with a familiarity that was disturbing, taking Elsa away from the main hall and towards the servant's entrance. Putting his head down, Pitch crashed through the barricaded door and into the night. Elsa looked over her shoulder to call to the guards, but those they were slumped over, their weapon discarded on the ground. Several dark and wispy canine entities stood over their cold bodies, shying away from the light of the nearby torches.

Elsa buried her face into Pitch's fur. He smelled of pine of and ashes. She had gone with the wolf. She had chosen the wolf. Now no one else would die, most especially Anna. She was safe. The remaining guards and Kristoff would find her and help her. As for herself, Elsa had no idea what Pitch wanted with her but his use for her was, as she had said, infinite.

It had been hours since they had left Arendelle. Pitch hadn't spoken a word to Elsa, letting her go through whatever emotion she fancied by herself. Sometimes she was stoic, other times she cried intensely into Pitch's fur. In the moments between she rested quietly between his shoulder blades, letting his rhythmic stride rock her into submission as she pretended her heart was not pinning for her home; for her sister.

Elsa opened her eyes, looking up at the night sky. A blanket of deep blue clouds blocked out the stars, a promise of snow. She couldn't even see the moon. She hadn't the slightest idea where they were but she did know that she had never been this far from home before. Looking behind them, she could see the red drops of blood Pitch left in their wake. He wasn't bleeding badly anymore, but it was enough. Enough that perhaps someone could follow them and find her.

"Pitch," She said a little too enthusiastically. "You're still bleeding. Don't you think we should slow down or even stop for a little bit so you can, you know, recover a little?"

"Heh," he said. "It's insulting that you think I'm stupid enough to think you actually care about me. Look," Pitch motioned to the sky. Fat flakes of snow had begun to fall. "The snow will mask any scent and trace of the both of us."

As she watched the snowflakes collect on the back of the wolf Elsa felt hot tears rolling down her cheeks, because she knew Pitch was right. There was nothing the snow and ice could bring her but a seal of fate. The winter night would cover up the blood, the scent trail, everything. When Anna, Kristoff, and the guards came looking for her, Pitch would have already carried her away to where ever he was taking her. No one was coming.

Then, she felt something ice cold against her cheek, brushing away a tear. Rapidly, Elsa began wiping at her face, immediately assuming somehow a clump of snow had fallen from a tree and hit her face. Then she felt a gentle, but cold gust she could only compare to a whisper against her right ear. Touching her ear lobe, she could have sworn she heard the words 'hold on tight'. They were alone, there was no one who could possibly be whispering to her out here.

A torrential gust of wind slammed Elsa and Pitch, knocking the wolf off of his feet. Elsa screamed and tried to tangle her hands into Pitch's fur but she wasn't quick enough. The wind wrenched her from his back and sent her toppling through the snow. Clawing her way up through the drift she had been supplanted into, Elsa popped up from the snow to see Pitch doing the same about ten feet away.

Out of nowhere, something gold and glittering darted in front of Elsa, leaving a brilliant swirl of shining dust in its wake. Whatever it was disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.

Pitch fixed his eyes on Elsa. His lips peeled up in an ugly snarl. "Get over here!"

"Woah, I guess chivalry really is dead." Drifting slowly down from the sky was a young man wearing nothing but a pair of brown trousers and a navy hoodie laced delicately with frost. He didn't even have any shoes.

* * *

 **A/N: Not much to say, hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

The Witch and the Wolf

Chapter 2

Like a pebble in still water, the stranger descended slowly on air currents. The heavy bluster of snowflakes settled not on but around him, as if polarized by his presence. With his back to Elsa she couldn't see the stranger's face but she could see as he drifted down that his feet were not only bare, but unusually pale. He stuck the roughly hewn shepherds crook he carried deep into the snow and nimbly came to rest on the protruding curve.

"I thought you had a taste for children, Pitch. Are you maturing?" He asked.

"Jack" Pitch said, a growl emphasizing every word. "What's wrong with a little variety?"

"Nothing's wrong, it just makes you look suspicious. Very suspicious. I mean, that's fine if you want some attention. Has Baba Yaga has been ignoring you lately?" He lifted his hand rotated and his wrist until his palm was facing up, a perfect snowball in his hand. "Wanna play fetch?"

Pitch lowered his hulking body close to the snow and huffed, sending a shower of fresh powder dancing in the wake of his hot breath. Capturing the sparse light of the moon, a violent desire lurked in Pitch's eyes.

"Be careful, Jack."

"You're name is Jack?" Elsa spoke for the first time since Jack's appearance. "Please help me. I have to get back to my sister, back to Arendelle-"

"Arendelle?" Jack said as he looked over his shoulder at Elsa, who took a step back when their eyes met. Although her eyes were blue as well, the electric color of Jack's was unnatural, but lively and somehow inviting. "You're from Arendelle?"

"Uhm, I don't mean to be rude, but isn't that obvious?" She said, not meaning to sound arrogant but genuinely offended that he hadn't the slightest idea who she was. Pitch let his shoulders relax as a laugh rolled out of his mouth.

"You don't even know her, Jack. Yet you stand between her and I? What a fool."

"What? Is she important?" He now turned all the way around to face Elsa. His unkempt hair was the color of moonlight, a sharp contrast to his eyes that still softly held Elsa's attention. Jack's easy smile was innocent and endearing, coaxing a soft blush to Elsa's cheeks.

"It only gets better with every word you say. Just look at her. So beautiful and admired and you don't know even her name." The wolf said.

Jack shrugged. "Well, if you weren't so rudely distracting me then maybe I could have introduced myself like a real gentleman should. You've got to stop killing my game, Pitch."

"Is that all she is to you, Jack? Amusement? A game?"

"A human?" Jack offered, putting his feet on the ground and pulling his staff out of the snow.

"Whatever word you use, she's mine. Step away now."

"You see her as a possession."

"Hey!" Elsa ran up and pushed Jack's shoulder, making him stumble forward. "I'm not a game, I'm not a possesion, I'm Elsa!"

At that moment Elsa felt a chapped hand stroke the delicate skin on the back of her neck. Simultaneously a long and ragged nail traced down to observe the curve of her shoulder blade. The sensation was violating and strange but Elsa felt the will to move fleeing, leaving her captive and frozen to be touched by whomever was standing behind her.

"Elsa it is." The voice was feminine and aged, warm and wet on her shoulder. "I think you should come with my wolf and I, dear, before someone gets hurt."

Elsa still couldn't turn around but for the first time she saw a fracture in Jack's light hearted posture. His lips became a tight line and he was now focused on whomever was behind Elsa.

"Gothel," he said.

"Baba Yaga, as it is these days." The woman behind Elsa said. "Death gives a person certain privileges."

A playful, perhaps even understanding smile returned to Jack's lips. "I can respect that. But, uh, I don't think Elsa really likes you touching her like that."

"I never asked for your opinion." The witch responded. "Pitch, if you would be so kind."

"Well, you didn't ask for her—" Before Jack could finish his sentence the wolf was on top of him. His massive paws crushed the snow that Jack had been standing on just a moment ago, sending a flurry of fresh snow into the air. Pitch snarled at the miss and rounded to find his prey. A few feet away Jack rolled out of a snow bluff, still off balance from the less-than-perfect dodge. Pitch reared to Jack, his jaws prone. Jack brandished his staff defensively in front of him but before he could do anything, Pitch was hit in the neck by something fast, gold, and glittering. It ricocheted away and landed beside Jack, a trail of sparkling dust in its stead.

The golden creature was another wolf, but much smaller than Pitch, he was even small for a wolf. His fur a canvas of different shades of gold, particles of sparkling dust radiated from him like summer sunshine. His head was cocked to one side as he stood beside Jack, who reached out to pat the golden wolf's side in admiration.

"Thanks, Sandy." Jack mumbled, standing up again.

Pitch snarled and charged. Jack swiped his shepherds crook across the snow, showering the black wolf's face in a flurry of ice and snow shards. Pitch yowled and faltered as one shard caught his eye, giving Jack enough time to gracefully move out of his path. Sandy circled around behind Pitch, wrapping one of the giant wolf's paws in a golden string that emanated from his aura. In a quiet flicker, smaller shadow wolves appeared beside Pitch, severing Sandy's string and charging for Jack.

Waving his staff again, Jack let a strong gust of wind sweep him off the ground and away from the eager teeth of a shadow wolf.

"We have to pull out," Jack said. Sandy acknowledged Jack with a nod. He reeled around and jumped, running almost vertically into the air, the empty space beneath his paws lighting up with sparkling dust as though he was climbing stairs that existed only for him.

"Leaving so soon?" Gothel said.

Jack changed the air currents sharply, sending him hurtling towards Elsa and the witch. With his staff he clobbered Gothel in the side of the head, knocking her away from Elsa, who felt consciousness returning to her body. The force of Jack's attack had him kneeling next to Elsa, so he naturally wrapped his other hand around her waist and pulled her towards him until her hip was pressing against his ear.

"This time, I really need you to hold on tight, Elsa." A sudden gust of wind swept Jack and Elsa into the sky. The force bent Elsa over Jack's shoulder but she did as she was told and tightly clenched his hoodie with everything, even her teeth. Trailing them was a long and hungry howl followed by a chorus of yips and snarls. Their ascent was turbulent and haphazard, the pair spinning like a top as they gained altitude. After a few minutes, the spinning stopped and Elsa felt them level out, riding a single current rather than climbing.

Against her ear she felt his breath, that familiar puff of a cool whisper against her skin. "Open your eyes for a minute."

Finding her courage despite knowing they were soaring hundreds of feet above the earth, Elsa opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Jack's companion, running beside them, his golden tongue lolling out of his mouth, a trail of dust the color of dreams in his wake. Beneath them was an opaque layer of deep gray clouds, pregnant with the snow that was falling underneath. Over their heads the night was a clear cerulean blanket decorated by the hand of the Creator with stars that winked like the facets of diamonds. To their left, the moon cut a sliver in the sky, large and seemingly close enough for Elsa to touch.

"Worth it?" Jack asked.

"It's beautiful." She said.

"I think everything is beautiful when people don't want to kill you." Jack replied. "Come on," He veered north, changing winds and letting this one carry them like feathers a little higher. Above the cloud line the night was quiet, a departure from moments before when Elsa thought Jack was about to become the meal of a wolf.

Vicious and guilty, the memory of Anna on the floor of the castle throttled Elsa's attention. So fresh and raw she could clearly see the way Anna's lips twisted in agony as Pitch's teeth dug into her leg. Anna was in so much pain but there had been desperation to protect Elsa, a duty a younger sibling shouldn't have to carry.

"I need to go home." Elsa gasped. "I need you to take me back to Arendelle right now."

Jack said nothing but they began to descend. They drifted through the clouds, coming out below where the stars and moon were no longer visible and the snow was falling quiet as a hush, thick as blood. Hoping, perhaps even expecting to see her city, Elsa was disheartened to see that they were landing in a glen of evergreens. When he touched down Jack helped Elsa to her feet.

"Your name is Jack, right?" Elsa said.

He nodded. "Yep, Jack, Jack Frost to be specific."

"Jack... Frost?"

"Yeah, you know, like the song?" He dropped his voice to a low baritone and began to sing. "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose..." He pointed expectantly at Elsa with his crook.

"Isn't that a Christmas song?"

When she didn't carry the song he dropped his arms in disappointment. "It is."

"So you're a character from a Christmas carol?" Elsa asked.

"More like a Christmas carol was written about me, but I guess you could look at it that way."

"You're not going to tell me the Easter Bunny is real too, are you?"

Jack looked quickly to the side and then back to Elsa, one eyebrow raised. He opened his mouth to say something but sighed and then tried again. "There's not an easy answer to that because one is a lie and the other you won't believe."

"Oh, Jack—"

"I know this is a lot, but stay with me, okay?"

Elsa felt a warmth tickling her legs. Looking down she saw the golden wolf wrapping himself around her skirt, his tail whapping her expectantly. Meager and submissive, the wolf put his ears down and pushed his head against her hand. Elsa ran her fingers through his warm, soft fur, scratching lightly behind his ears, scattering glittering particles as she did so.

"What is he?" Elsa asked.

"That's Sandy. He's a good friend. He brings people good dreams. Looks like he's also your new best friend." Jack stepped in a half circle around Elsa, maintaining eye contact. "Now, can I ask you a question?"

"Uh, sure. But I really feel like _I_ am in a dream. Magical wolves, a witch—"

"A dashing stranger who saved the day?" Jack finished for her. She narrowed her eyes at him but felt the temperature of her skin begin to rise. Elsa hoped Jack couldn't see the pink blossoming on her face but the confidant smirk that suddenly sprang to his face suggested otherwise.

"Look, thank you for your help but I really need to go home. My sister and my kingdom all need me."

"Your kingdom? Are you, like, a princess or something?"

Elsa stared at him for a moment with her mouth open. "I am Arendelle's queen."

It was as if someone had lit a match in Jack's brain. Suddenly animated, he leapt onto a nearby rock. "Now it makes sense why Pitch dragged you out here!"

"It does?"

"Yeah! You're queen of Arendelle. He, or really his master, must be looking for the weapon and he probably thought that if he could get somebody important, for example the queen, Arendelle would just serve it to him on a silver platter."

"Wait, wait, stop," Elsa waved her hands in front of her. "None of what you are saying is making sense. First, his master? That woman? Second, Arendelle is peaceful, we don't have any secret weapons! We trade with neighboring countries, not war against them! Third, I don't know, this is just really crazy."

"Wait, so you don't know?" Jack said. "That's really strange."

"Don't know what?"

"About the weapon. I thought humans knew."

"For the last time, Jack, there is no weapon in Arendelle."

For a moment he was silent. It was the first time all evening that he looked completely stoic. Unlike before when the snowflakes danced away from him, they now settled softly on his shoulders. "Maybe. But Baba Yaga usually doesn't waste time on maybes and myths."

"You're saying Baba Yaga. The child eating witch from story books? That would make her a myth. Which, by the way, you are a myth too. Wouldn't it make sense that if she is a myth she would be looking for another myth?" Elsa said.

"Wouldn't it make sense that if so many myths are actually a reality that this weapon could be too?"

Elsa sighed. "You do have a point. But I have never even heard about a weapon before and I think that's really strange."

"I would agree, it's very strange. But at least be open to the possibility. Baba Yaga and Pitch are powerful and if they are searching for means to increase that power they can't be up to anything good."

Elsa looked behind Jack at the sky. The gray color had begun to fade to a soft blue. The night was receding.

"Can you please take me home now?"

Jack's posture visibly slouched and he scratched the back of his head. "Uh, I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

"Why? If there is a weapon hiding in Arendelle then I need to be there, protecting my people. My sister is hurt, she'll need me and-" Jack placed a finger against her lips for silence. It felt like kissing a river stone, cool and smooth.

"Baba Yaga and Pitch know where the castle is and how to get in unnoticed. Going back isn't a sfafe option for you right now. If you don't know where the weapon is then there is a good chance that no one else in Arendelle does either, hence why they sought to kidnap you, the queen, who is probably the most likely person to know where any kind of secret arsenal is."

Elsa took Jack's hand in both of hers, moving it from her lips. "Jack, they tried to take my sister first. I told them to take me instead."

Something dark and complex moved in the blue of Jack's eyes. Beneath the boyish layer of fun there was a secret that gasped in agony when Elsa spoke to him of her little sister. He didn't take his hand away from her.

"The best way to protect your sister is to make them think you know where it is hidden so that they will chase you instead of her."

"But how is that safer than going home? I can't fight against those people, Jack!"

He smiled. "Elsa, I told you, I rub elbows with the Easter Bunny. Well, him and a few others."


	3. Chapter 3

The Witch and the Wolf

Chapter 3

"Where is the day?" Elsa asked. They had been flying for hours and the sun had yet to peek over the horizon. Everywhere as far as she could see the snow was still falling quiet as a carol mouse.

"Because," Jack said. "We are so far north that there are only a few hours of daylight. Even if it is day in Arendelle, here it's still night."

Elsa, who was riding piggy-back style on Jack's back leaned over his shoulder to look below them. Their vantage was mostly obscured by thick gray clouds, but through the breaks she could see snow-capped evergreen trees, rounded hills, and powder-topped rock formations. Nothing but the forest

"Hang on." Jack said. He gripped Elsa's thigh with one hand and swirled his shepherd's crook with the other, sending them in a controlled spiral towards the ground. Elsa felt her stomach flutter but by now she was accustomed to the sharp turns Jack liked to take. Gently, she felt Jack's hand stroking her own.

"Are you getting fresh?" Elsa asked defensively.

"No, I just don't understand why you always close your eyes. Look,"

Opening one eye and then the other, what she saw stole her breath quicker than a kiss. A building made of brick and steel had been grafted into the side of a cliff, covered over by ice and snow so you couldn't separate the creation of nature and man. Each little window was illuminated with the flickering of a candle that danced in the northern wind. Below the initial structure were smaller huts connected by bridges of ice and steel to the main structure. Jutting out from the wall of ice was some sort of platform that looked like a bridge to nowhere. This appeared to be where Jack was taking her.

"Wow!" Elsa said in awe. "Where is this place?"

"As north as you can go." Jack said. "The north pole, because where else would you find Santa Claus and his many friends?" Jack landed on the strip and gracefully wrapped an arm around Elsa's waist, hoisting her off of his back and placing her gently beside him. They now stood in a cavern made completely of ice albeit the floor which was hammered steel with various markings that seemed to direct towards the entrance.

"Come on, let's go."

Elsa bid as she was told and followed Jack. She took a moment to crane her head back and stare at her reflection in the ice, clear as a glass and twice as strong. One corner of her mouth lifted in a half-smile and she spun in a circle, slow and graceful. Jack pretended not to watch, but the shimmy of her body and the gentle lift of her breasts was distracting, to say the least. When she stood tall as she was he could see how delicate and pretty her waist was. He felt a blush, remembering as he watched Elsa all the years that had gone by since he had put his hands against the naked hips of a real woman whose heart beat strong and blood ran warm.

"I thought we needed to go?" Elsa asked, floating closer.

"Uh, yeah." He scratched the back of his head. "This way."

Jack lead her through two large double doors and into a great hall decorated mostly in reds and golds with strong accents of green. Twinkling lights were ever a possibility existed and the room was populated by small people with large hats no taller than Elsa's knee. Scattered amongst the tiny inhabitants were large creatures covered in brown fur that grunted and groaned at one another. Jack seemed completely nonplussed.

"What are those?" Elsa asked, scooching a little closer to her companion.

"Oh, just yetis. And elves. North uses them for help, you know."

"North?"

"Err, Santa Claus. We call him North."

"Jack!" A voice bellowed behind them. "Welcome back!"

"Hi North."

"We're all here, mate."

"Hey guys." Jack said. Elsa shied further behind him, suddenly confronted by a hare as large as a man, a older gentlemen in red clothes, and a woman with wings who was covered in rainbow feathers. Behind them she could see Sandy itching his ear with a hind paw, spreading glittery tisps of sand everywhere. She knew she should stand tall like the queen she was, but of all the things she had seen tonight this group had to be part of the oddest.

"Is this the sheila?" The rabbit asked. He extended a large gray paw to Elsa. "I'm Bunnymund. Pleasure,"

Tentatively, Elsa reached out and took his paw, giving it one firm shake. "Elsa. Nice to meet you."

"Right, I guess I should introduce you." Jack said. He gestured first to the man in the red suit. "This is North. You met Sandy and Bunny," he looked to the woman covered in rainbow feathers. "This is Tooth."

"Hi!" Tooth said with an immaculate smile. "You have some beautiful teeth, Elsa. I'm so happy to finally meet you."

"You knew I was coming?"

"Oh yeah," Jack said. "I had Sandy send a message before we came. There is even a room ready for you."

"A room?" Elsa asked. "How long were you planning on keeping me?"

Bunny snorted. "Keeping is for pets, love. You're here for your own safety."

"Yeah," Tooth chimed in. "We're so glad that Jack found you. Pitch will be looking everywhere for you."

Elsa looked back to Jack who shrugged, hapless and carefree as a puppy. "I thought he only wanted me as a tool to find the weapon. Why would he look for me? Aren't I just a puzzle piece?"

"Oh no! You—" Tooth started but North coughed loudly and stepped forward.

"Elsa has had very long night, Tooth. There will is time to learn more about later. Jack, show her to her room."

Jack offered Elsa his elbow. She laced her arm delicately around his and placed her palm lightly on the back of his wrist as a lady would be expected. It was easy to see he was unpracticed because he turned to her, grinning like a boy at Christmas. Unfortunately Elsa's eyes were on the hem of her skirt, not Jack's giddy expression.

He lead her away from the commotion of the main room and down a secluded corridor. Great windows lined one half of the hallway and through these windows were the flickering lights in the ice Elsa had seen upon their arrival. Jack took her to a door painted with a green Nordic triangle pattern. In the centers of the triangles were emblems of reindeer painted in gold.

"Right this way, my dear." Jack swept open the door, guiding Elsa into a spacious room that reminded her of home. Purples and red were the dominant colors, speaking to her status as Queen of Arendelle. A giant canopy bed took up most of the room but in the corner by the window was a writing desk with a stool capped in purple velvet. Closest to them was a sitting area with stylish wooden fixtures, all outlined with the same golden trim that the reindeer on the door had been painted in. Elsa let her heavy eyes close for a moment. When she opened them again she saw not the beautiful room nestled in Santa's workshop, but the carnage that polluted the sanctuary of Anna's room.

Burying her face in her hands, Elsa began weeping. They were thick and heavy gasps that were difficult to breathe through with fat tears that flushed her cheeks, stretched her mouth into a grimace and made her ugly. Desperate and painful, her misery escaped in weak mewls. She was sinking to the floor but Jack wrapped his arms around her and pulled her upright against him, her head flopping like a limp doll against his shoulder.

"Woah, woah, woah," Jack pulled Elsa to the bed and sat her beside him. She stayed upright but slouched. He darted off to the washroom and returned with a damp cloth, wiping away the tears and mess from her face.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Elsa, who had stopped sniffing for a moment, broke into another bout of tears when he asked his question. Jack wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her so that her head rested against his shoulder. He squeezed her upper arm gently and tilted his head against her own. The smell of white jasmine hit him as he planted a small and slightly platonic peck on her healm.

"I forget." He said. "There's been a lot today. It's okay to feel experience it."

Elsa cried for a few minutes more, sometimes taking the damp cloth and wiping her own face. When her tears began to slow she pulled away from Jack and looked up at his face, her own puffy and red from the production.

"I'm sorry,"

"Hey," Jack traced her colored cheek with his finger. "Don't apologize. You've been through a lot. Do you want to get some sleep?"

Elsa nodded. He gave her hand a squeeze before sauntering over to the door.

"Wait. Jack?"

He turned around. "Yes?"

Sitting on the bed she wore the light of the moon like a virgin's veil. Her hair was a mess, partially falling out of its bun and disheveled in all places. Face flushed and rosy, her eyes were an innocent blue.

"Thank you for helping me today." She smiled. "You were like a brother to me. So, thank you."

Jack grimaced, remembering less than an hour before in the cave when he had admired her attributes. She clearly didn't look at him with the same desire.

"Yeah, uh, goodnight, Elsa." Jack pulled the door closed behind him.

Elsa pulled the pearled bobby pins from her hair and began unraveling the tight braid she kept her hair in. She pulled the white hair tie out and set it on the table beside the bed and began massaging the back of her scalp.

"Mmmm," she sighed, enjoying the small pleasure. She leaned back and fell on the fluffy purple duvet, spreading her arms out as though she was making a snow angel.

Jack couldn't have been gone five minutes when there was a sharp wrap on Elsa's door. She bolted upright and before she could say anything, North was coming through the door, followed by Tooth, Bunny, and a disgruntled stranger with a shock of bright red hair and eyes as green as envy.

* * *

 **A/N: Yikes folks! Sorry for the hiatus. Life has been very lifey. Here is a new, albeit short chapter. Please review and spread the Jelsa love! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

The Witch and the Wolf

Chapter 4

This stranger had the charming smile of a fox and a charismatic lean to his posture. One hand was on his hip, the other arm hanging at his side. Beneath his striking green eyes were small tattoos of teardrops, on his left bicep the roman numerals XIII. He winked at Elsa as he approached, pulling a chair up sitting in it with his legs straddling the back rest.

"Wow, you're even more beautiful than they let on."

Elsa blushed and self consciously touched her loose hair, wavy from the tight braid it had been in all night.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. It's just weird to meet another one, y'know?" He said. North coughed loudly and began rolling up his sleeves so his own calligraphic tattoos could be seen.

The redhead raised a thin eyebrow. "So they haven't—"

"Axel!" Bunny said, tapping his boomerang against his shoulder.

Axel glanced at Bunny then back to Elsa and sighed."Okay, well this is going to be wkward then. I guess you already know my name, but I'm Axel." He extended his hand to Elsa who took it under slight duress. In contrast to Jack's chilly fingers, Axel's seemed to burn her skin. He had red blood in his veins and hot breath in his lungs.

"I'm Elsa."

He smiled. "So pretty. You're a queen, right?" She nodded in response.

"Well, the Man in the Moon sure knows how to pick 'em. Well, aside from me I guess, but I—"

"Pick them?"

"I think you're done, brother." Bunny grabbed Axel's arm and dragged him to his feet. Elsa saw that around his wrist was a bracelet of jingle bells. North came around the other side and helped Bunny hoist Axel away from Elsa.

"I knew this was a bad idea," North muttered.

"Wait!" Elsa jumped off of her bed and grabbed for Axel, her hands finding his fitted white shirt. "You can't take him away. He is the first person to speak sense tonight besides Jack. You just barge into my room with this stranger who says we have some kind of similarity and when he tries to explain you cut him off?"

She wheeled on Bunny. "You said keeping is for pets, but what are you doing to this man?" She grabbed Axel's wrist with the bell bracelet to make her point. "This is an odd fashion choice for him, don't you think?"

"It's a complicated situation—" Axel tried to interrupt.

"Who is the real enemy?" Elsa continued. "Was I better off with the wolf? With Jack?"

"Elsa—" Tooth tried to put her hand on Elsa's shoulder but the young queen waved her hand away.

"Don't you touch me! Don't any of you touch me!" She looked Axel up and down. "And release him! Right now!"

North and Bunny looked sheepishly at one another and slowly lowered Axel, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat, to the ground but didn't let him go.

"I don't mean offense," North began. "But you are not Queen here, Miss Elsa."

Elsa's jaw dropped, not incredulous, but completely aware that she had been relieved of all power. Against these foes her words were all she had to offer and North had effectively cut her off at the knees. Pushing past them, she ran out the door of her room and began running down the hall in no particular direction.

"Jack!" She screamed. "Jack Frost! Jack!"

"Elsa!" Tooth called, fluttering after her. "Wait, please! Let us explain!"

Elsa ignored the fairy. "Jack!"

Then she felt that familiar cold puff, light as a wish against her ear. That was right before she hit something hard as a brick of ice and toppled, tangled limb for limb with another body. Wrenching away from the other person, Elsa saw Jack beneath her, face scrunched in a wince but still managing his familiar sly smile.

"Hey," he said as though she hadn't just bowled him over.

"Jack!" Elsa pulled him up and into her arms. "I need you."

He put one hand on her upper back. "I know I heard you screaming my name. Everything okay?"

She shook her head no against his shoulder. At that moment, Tooth fluttered up beside them, followed by Bunny, North, and Axel.

"You have an entourage?" He asked. "I thought you were going to bed? And North, weren't you the one who said Elsa should rest?"

"It's my fault." Axel volunteered. "I really wanted to see her. I couldn't wait, so I made myself a pest until they let me. I'm sorry, I thought she knew, Jack."

"Bloody annoying." Bunny mumbled.

"What are they not telling me, Jack?"

"I'm not completely sure. Uh, guys, you wanna fill us in?"

North sighed. "Let's go downstair and drink cocoa It's better that way."

Ten minutes later, everyone was seated at a round wooden table. The centerpiece was a two-foot tall Christmas tree decorated with small glass ornaments and detailed gold and red ribbon. Each of their mugs was different but a traditional representation of the Christmas holiday. Cupped in her delicate hands, Elsa's mug was a holly red with intricate white snowflake filigree patterns on it. Six little marshmallows bobbed in her cocoa, slowly dissolving into sugary fluff. Jack sat next to her, his cocoa undisturbed. His eyes were on mostly North, his right hand resting on the back of Elsa's chair.

"Okay, Elsa," North began. "You see us. We are Guardians. We help the humans like you, yes?"

She blinked. "I... I suppose. You all are things of children's stories. You keep us safe?"

"Well, except for me." Axel piped up. "I'm like you." He winked at Elsa again.

North nodded. "Yes, yes, okay. Man in the Moon, he say help the people. We say okay. But you, you are special girl, very special girl indeed. Man in Moon give you power. No one know why, but he does. Can be dangerous, yes? So now you know why Pitch want you."

Elsa looked from North to Jack, and then back to North. She laughed ungraciously, rubbing her temple with her fingers. "You're crazy! I don't have any powers! Pitch wants the weapon in Arendelle, not me!"

"You are the weapon, stupid." Axel said.

"Watch it, man," Jack said. Axel nodded receptively in his direction.

"Look, I told you, I'm like you. I have an ability no other human on this planet does and these haphazard misfits have helped me and they want to do the same to you, not because they want to exploit you like that wicked bitch and her yappy poodle, but because they care. You can sit there and watch your marshmallows drown or you could say thank you."

"I don't have any powers." Elsa repeated blandly.

"Well," Jack interjected. "Whether she does or doesn't, why wasn't I told any of this?"

"Mate, if you cared to show up once and a while when we have meetings you might hear about the places we're sniffing out. North has had his eyes on this sheila since she was little. Ain't that right, Claus?"

Jack hung his head sheepishly. North nodded. "Yes, just like Axel when you little girl you chosen by the Man in Moon. He show us you, he show us Axel, he show us—"

"Hush," Axel said and North listened, much to Elsa's surprise.

"But—" Elsa began.

"If you haven't used them yet, you have to realize that it's channeled through an emotion, usually brought on by something really intense as the initial spark. You just haven't tapped into that yet. But you will, especially if you keep hanging around with these characters." Axel motioned to the others seated at the table. Tooth was stroking the wings of several smaller fairies, who were helping themselves to her cocoa. Sandy was lapping at his and Bunny was using the cocoa in his mug to cook a brightly colored egg. Two yetis kept exchanging North's mug, one kept placing a blue mug down and the other a red one.

Elsa took in the scene of the Guardians and then slowly turned to Jack. He was closer than she remembered, close enough for her to feel his cold breath.

"So you're not like me then, are you?"

"Well, I was. But then I died. And now I'm Jack Frost."

"You died?"

He nodded.

"That's—I'm sorry."

"Elsa, don't be." He smiled. "I mean, if I hadn't died I wouldn't have gotten to meet you."

Beside them Axel was rubbing the tops of a salt and pepper shaker together and making smooching noises. Elsa looked at her mug, blushing and Jack shot Axel a dirty look. When he looked back at Elsa, her eyes were fixed on the wood planks of the table, lips thin and tight.

Jack put his hand on her back. "Do you want to go to bed?" He asked. "For real this time?"

She nodded, taking Jack's hand and standing with him. As he lead her away from the table, most everyone was too absorbed in their side conversations to notice, but Tooth smiled at her and waved before giving her attention back to Bunny. Axel, on the other hand, watched her like a predator. He touched his temple with two fingers and pulled them away quickly in a mock salute.

Neither said anything to one another as they walked until the voices of the dining hall disappeared and their only companion was the dancing light that the candles provided. Turning to Elsa, the winter spirit smiled.

"You look very pretty in this light."

"You're dead."

"Ouch!" Jack folded his arms behind his head. "That was pretty was a little low."

"You aren't flirting with me, are you?"

Jack exhaled deeply. "I mean, uh, I guess... not."

For a moment she let the pregnant silence exist between them, not looking at him out of principle. Then she reached out and touched his arm, still keeping her eyes away. "I'm really tired. Do you think you could carry me back?"

"Yeah, of course!" Jack dropped to his knee so quick he almost slipped on the floor runner. "Of course I can carry you, Elsa."

Wordlessly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and straddled his hips tightly with her knees. He looped his arms under her legs in a piggy back hold. She placed her head against his shoulder and let her head lull softly. Jack could feel her eyelashes tickle his neck as she closed her eyes and the warmth of her breath touched the small of his neck like soft kisses.

"Thank you," Elsa mumbled.

"You bet."

The rest of the way they didn't speak. Jack simply enjoyed the sensation of Elsa's body to close to his. She was incredibly warm and and the scent of jasmine was still fresh on her skin. When her cheek would occasionally brush his bare skin the connection felt like fire. She was soft, supple, and alive. His mind wandered back to the moment in the ice cave when she was admiring North's runway and Jack was able to admire all parts of her.

When they reached her door, he did an about face and grabbed the doorknob awkwardly with his hand, popping it open and then using his foot to kick it he rest of the way. The force of his kick sent the door slamming into a nearby chair with a loud crack.

"Oops, sorry about that." He said. No response. "Elsa?" Jack peeked at the woman on his back. Her eyes were closed gently, her breathing a steady and slow rhythm. For the first time all night she looked completely free of everything she had experienced in the last twelve hours. The thought of her sleek body made him smile, but the sight of her worried mind at rest made his heart warm in a way it hadn't in years and years.

Quiet as he could, Jack tiptoed across the room to the bed. Delicately he shifted Elsa off of him and onto the bed. He pulled a pillow from the head and slipped it under her soft wavy hair. He folded the duvet over so that it was at least partially covering her and keeping her warm. When he did so, Elsa whispered something in her sleep and brought her right hand up to her forehead in a rather dramatic pose. She then rolled to the left, upsetting Jack's duvet design.

He bent over her and began to fix the duvet over her again when he saw tiny flecks of white on Elsa's face. Leaning in closer, he could see that dotting her cheek, eyelashes, and forehead were tiny, intricate snowflakes.

* * *

 **A/N: I really should be focusing on college but OMG writing is so much more fun than being an adult. Also, Axel is not an OC, but a Disney character from the games Kingdom Hearts. Most of you probably know this already but I thought I would throw him in here because I love him dearly AND they are talking about making Frozen a world in the new game. Ahhhhh I don't know if my fangirl heart can take it. Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews, peace out citizens of Jelsa!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

The Witch and the Wolf

Chapter 5

Anna was crying on her bed. "Elsa," She said through tears. "Elsa, please make it stop. Please!"

Elsa was standing two feet away, watching her sister. Beneath Anna's feet was a pool of dark blood that stained her white stockings. It was coming from her legs, marred and punctured by wolf teeth.

"It hurts so much Elsa!"

No words would come. Elsa was frozen.

"You have to help me!"

The blood reached the toes of Elsa's shoes.

"Make it stop!"

It froze, turning into red ice around Elsa's feet.

"It _hurts_!"

"Ann—" Elsa tried to cry for her sister but hot, sweaty hands wrapped around her mouth. Her scream was muffled by the palm. When she reached to grab the hand off of her mouth the captor's other hand held her wrists together and pushed her down into the plush sheets of her bed.

"Shh!" A cool and familiar voice hissed. "Are you going to keep screaming or can I let you up?" It was Axel.

His hand went lax and Elsa wrenched it off of her mouth with more force than necessary, pushing him off of her. Her heart hammered against her ribs and her eyes were still foggy with sleep, but she could definitely make out his searing green eyes and shock of red hair in the gilded morning light.

"Why are you in my room?" She gasped.

He scratched the back of his head. "My room is next to yours. And you were screaming. So naturally I was like, hey, lets see if she's being killed in her sleep."

The image of blood pooling beneath Anna burned inside of her minds eye.

"Get out, Axel."

He chuckled and stood from her bed but didn't leave. "You know this is the perfect time, right?"

Elsa's eyes closed slowly. She clutched the blankets with both hands. "Are you telling me..."

"Yeah, I am." He extended his hand to her. "Let's go explore those powers of yours while you're a tearful mess."

Having hurriedly showered and dressed, Elsa put her hair into a loose braid and followed Axel from her room. He lead her through the winding maze of North's workshop and to a ballroom polished in cedar and gold. Chairs from banquets passed were stacked against the far walls and the floor had a fine layer of scuff that hadn't been attended to. Axel walked to the center of the room and turned to her, grinning.

"You ready?"

Elsa nodded. "Yes."

"Okay, so you're going to summon that emotion and—" He clapped his hands together and when he opened them, a head of flame was dancing like a pet against the flesh of his palm. "It's just that easy."

"Wow! You're saying I can do that too?"

"Well, maybe not fire, but something. Maybe you control plants or stone or become invisible when no one is looking at you. I don't know."

As he said this Elsa looked slightly deflated.

Axel sighed. "Okay, look, I get you don't know what it is. So just find your emotion and let it go from there." He winked at her. "Got it memorized?"

"I... uh..."

"Hmm. Well, mine is anger. I just think about something that really pisses me off and—" He slammed a tight fist against his open palm. "Bangarang!" Embers appeared and cleared a radius around him, scattering around the room and singeing the dance floor. Elsa now knew where those scuff marks came from.

"Axel! Be careful!"

"Oh, please, Miss Priss, just let it go. You'll feel better."

"But what is my emotion?"

Axel shrugged. "Whatever makes you feel so out of control you want to die."

Elsa closed her eyes and lifted her hand. She thought of how frustrating it was to rule a country without much help or cooperation, how Anna was constantly running off with Kristoff to make merry. In her belly she felt a hard and panicky emotion begin to stir and she latched on and tried to feed it, encouraging herself to become angrier and angrier. She opened her eyes and looked at her hands.

"Well?" She asked. "Did I do it?"

Axel put his hands on his hips, leaning dramatically to one side. "Uh, no."

"Okay, let me try again." Elsa closed her eyes again. Anna was the first person to pop into her mind. Her bright blue eyes and smile like the sun made Elsa involuntary light up inside. She could see her sister dancing down the halls, singing songs about snowmen and salad plates.

 _Dancing down the halls..._

Would Anna ever dance again with her crushed legs? The blame and fear spread like a rash.

"I don't want to do this." Elsa said, her voice dark.

Axel slid onto his knees in front of her so he could peek at her face. "Oh, but this is perfect, dear." He touched her cheek. She remembered the feeling of his clammy hands on her mouth; binding her wrists.

"You're so close, it's delicious."

Elsa pulled her hands free. "Get away from me." She stormed out of the ballroom, holding her breath so that she wouldn't cry in front of him. He didn't chase her and Elsa was glad for it. Picking up her skirts so she could walk faster, Elsa headed in a random direction, hard and determined. If she could walk back to Arendelle, she would. Anna was her place of safety and Lord knew she needed some in this mess she had fallen into.

"Elsa?"

She whipped around afire with emotions. It was Jack Frost.

"Oh, no!" She turned away from him and roughly wiped her cheeks free of tears then fluffed her hair. "Hi Jack. How are you?"

He looked besotted, obviously pleased at the fact that she was embarrassed to be seen by him when she was disheveled. It gave him an aura of confidence.

"Pretty girl, how come every time I see you, you're crying?"

"I'm not crying." She snapped.

"Then what were you wiping off of your face? Glitter?"

"Maybe. You don't know." She turned away from him, still angry at Axel and now flustered by Jack's advance. She was hot under the collar and hoped that Jack couldn't see the blush.

"I guess you're right. But there is something I do want to know."

"Oh, Jack, please just leave me alone." From the corner of her eye she could see that her bitterness stung him sharper than a slap. He took a step back but didn't leave.

"Well, if you want to be alone I will leave, but before I go, will you tell me one thing?"

"If it will make you go away." The words burned her tongue as she said them but her emotions were in control, not her polite manners that had been polished in the palace of Arendelle.

"What can I do to make you happy again?"

At his soft words Elsa lifted her eyes to meet his. He was leaning like a page boy against his crook, eyes wide and open as open as a good book. Unlike Axel there was no motive hiding behind his words. His concern was organic. It made her heart ache, ache uncontrollably for her sister, the only other person who had ever looked at her so selflessly.

"I want to talk to my sister." She said.

"Oh," Jack sighed. "As much as I would love to take you to Arendelle, it' not really safe, Elsa."

Her shoulders dropped. "Oh."

"But," he added quickly. "If you write a letter, the wind just might carry it down south." Elsa looked up at him, an undeniable smile spreading across her face. He winked at her.

Elsa had an elf bring her a simple breakfast of rose tea and skyr yogurt. After finishing half of the skyr and nursing her tea, she dipped her quill pen into the ink pot and began to write.

 _Anna,_

 _I'm so sorry I'm not there, but believe me, I did everything I could to save you. I pray you are still alive... I pray you can still walk when this is over. I love you more than I can say and I beg that you stay safe. Something is happening in Arendelle and possibly the rest of the world and I don't know what it is. So much has already changed._

She paused, remembering all of the events of last night from her kidnapping to her rescue and on to the whimsical realm of Santa Claus in which she now stayed. How could she say all of this without sounding completely crazy? Anan would never believe those things, much less that she was some sort of golden child with supernatural powers.

 _Close the gates. Protect yourself. Please._

 _Elsa_

When she was done she waved at the ink on the page to let it dry before folding it up into an envelope and sealing it with wax. She took the letter to Jack, who was waiting in the sitting area of her room, balancing a snowball on his nose.

"Jack," she held out the letter to him. He turned to her, letting the snowball fall into his hand.

"All done?" He asked. She nodded.

"Thank you."

"Oh yeah," Jack said as he took the letter, their fingers brushing. She was warm and alive. He tried to take her hand with his for a moment but she pulled away from his cold touch.

"Anything for you." He added awkwardly at the end.

Gratuitously, Elsa smiled, never knowing that the spirit of winter could make her feel so warm. And then a voice at the back of her head reminded her that he was a corpse.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for long wait between updates! I had a blip in inspiration but it's back! :D Thank you for all of your lovely reviews and messages! You guys are awesome and serve as a huge incentive to keep writing. Cheers!**


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